Variety (November 1950)

yARlETt Wednesday, November 29, 1950 Concert Biz 10% Off; Concert biz this season on thot vhole (excluding such specialties as a Sadler^s Wells Ballet toun is .' .10^? oftV but the general feeling is encouraging; Marks Levinev prez of National Concert & Artists r’nrn hnp of the country’s two Dei. Operettas in Xmas one of the country s top concert bureaus, has just, re- turned to N. Y;. from a montlVs swing around the C;; S., visiting local managers and some of his talent on tour. which is the iO week sched- Detroit, Nov. 28. Allan Jones and Kenny Baker are among the stars sighed by the Detroit Civic Light Opera As^m for its lOrWcek operetta series be-^ ginning Christmas night at lyia- Nine out of 10 managers con- i sonic Templev^ J^^^ who ' is re- taclod, he says, report increases in ! turning in January, from a toiir of ticket sa'es. The 109c drop- en^ | England,will appear in Jerome countered till now, he explains as I Kern’s :‘Roberta,-’ due to imceiTainty about taxation, t ninth sho\v in the the Korean war and rising cost .of ; ule, living. The tremendous success of ' Baker will star in “The Great such special attractions as Sadler’s,:! \Valtz“ the Week of Feb. 5. The says ‘Levine, has given the conj’eiT : show two years ago, witli Baker also starred, broke the association’s boxoflice record. Jack Kilty; Gloria Hamilton, Dor- othy MacFaiTand and Marion Ross wili appear in “CarouseU” the sea- son’s opener. Vera Byrner, Kiity, lart Keith, Jack Goode . and Qllie Franks will be in “Balalaik*^*’’ . Kilty, Keith and Helena Dudas, latter being the actress who last teachers.; are turning out product i season; replaced the injured Billie ' - 4K.r^.,.r> ! Worth in “Annie Get Your Gun, will Tiave the lead roles in “Rbse- IMarie. Inside Stuff—L^t Presentation of “The Barrlef” on Broadway, after its costly tryout in Washington and two-\yeek break-in oh the subway circuit, required the raising of $20,000 additional financing, which was. covered in an amended limited partnership agreement. Supplementary backers in- cluded producer-realtor Roger L. Stevens, $2,000; the show’s co-producer Michael Myerberg, $1,000; co-stars Lawrence Tibbett, $3,000, and Muriel Rahn, $1,000, , and subway circuit operator George Brandt, $2,000. The original bankroll was $50,000^ plus 159o overcall, bringing the total financing for the venture to $77,500. No return on the in- vestment is expected; Backers of “Hilda Crane,’' Arthur Schwartz’s production of the Sam- son Raphaelson drama at the Coronet, N. Y., include theatre owner- producer Anthony Brady Farrell, $1,300; film theatre operator Simon Fabian, $2,600; Louis R. Lurie, one of the principal bankrollers of the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, $5,200; Richard Blow, son of ad agency exec Milton Blow, $2,600; Manie Sacks, RCA-Victor artists contact, $1,300; publisher Walter H. Annenberg, brother of production asSoci^e Harriett Ames, $5,200; Mrs. Ames, $11,050, and the latter’s sister-in-law, Blanche S. Ames, $1,300. The venture financed at $65,000. field a hypo, just as a touring SRO “South Pacific’’ has given the whole legit scene a lift., With' .$25,000,000 s^ent in the U. S. annually on concerts. Levine thinks the industry needs safe- guarding. and points to some of the pitfalls., The biz is getting overcrowded with talent. Too many music Schools, too many BURL “Calling All Playwrighti’V Ives, who has done 160 concerts In the plist year and is now touring overseas for the Air Corps writes from Arabia: “Want to stay in New York with hiy family awhile, way- faring has its . limits and Tve ! reached it; Can’t you find a play for ah American Rainui.!' ; _ ives productions for whom there is no room or need. There are not enough con- ; cert managers, music, series, or , local concert setups to absorb the ; Talent. ; Too ma-Vv people, Levine says/' come to N. Y., seeking out im- ; prosarios. wanting to be another ; .Heifetz, Rubinstein or Pons. Medi- ' cal . schools turn out thousands of doctors annually, he points out,.but they all don’t yearn to be Pasteurs, or Cushings. Why shouldn't music; school graduates stay in their, com- ; murtities; he asks, either using. ■ mu.sic as an avocation or part of | their cultural life, or if they must > go • professional, pursue their pro- fession at home? I Levine. raps the free ducats handed out in N. Y. and other pro- duction centers fdr am and TV show.s. Why should anyone buy ^ tickets to a N. Y. Philharmonic' concert, when he can see and hear a Firestone Hour soloist or an NBC Symphonj free? Video’s Mission Levine doesn’t see Video as a threat to the concert field, any- more than to legit. People are gregarious by nature, he says, and want to get out. . They also want. to sec entertainment in the flesh. Video is an aid to the artist in expanding his work opportunity, as well as encouraging an audi- ence to come and hear him in person. A.s for tele, its mission is not to show a Pinza in song, or to sell soap, but to open , up entertain- ment to the rural world via thea- . Joey Faye, JsiC.k^ Whiting, Audrey Meadows and Jack Goode \ViU headline ‘•Higli .Button .Shoes,’' Noriha Ten is will have the lead in “Ladv in the Dark," with Xenia Banks and Keith .in supporting roles. Jacquelyn Van Natter, produc- tion manager of the Atlanta Opera, flew to New York last week for the premiere of “The Relapse’’ . . . Maurice Evans will star in “Rich- ard II,’’ under Margaret Webster’s direction, as the third and final re- vival of the City Center drama sea- son, which opens Dec. 27 with “Captain Brassbound’s Conver- sion,’’ followed by “The Royal ■ Family’’ . . . Sam Wanamaker, cur- • rentiy co-starring in the Arena re- ' vival of “Arms and the Man,’’ will stage the Aldrich & Myers produc- Guardsman,’’ Playhouse in Albany, Dec. 26 through Jan. 13. The first niusical presented by the stock company, it will have Marine (Jinsy Ordan,) formerly with Phil Spitalny’s or- ebesU'a, in a leading role. Laura W. Fiehcrg and Robert Fieberg have incorporated Chicago Stagebill, the official program magazine of Chi legit the’atres. Mrs Fieberg, widow of the late Paul Fieberg, who died July 22, and who was a partner in the firm, becomes president, with Robert Fieberg, veepee, Mary Waggoner D.CvBelasco As ServicemeiB lion of “The .Gum’dsman, icy eo- { becomes seGretary-treasurer. ; star Jeanette MacDonald and Gene Sudden fold of “Lily Henry,’’ on Raymond . . . United Producers, a‘ fhp PVP of rmd trvout is the of Tadio, TV and mag the e\e ot Its load u>oui, s i ^^yi-iters, announces a forthcoming first. such case.: in several seasons, production of “Springtime Folly,’’ The shov', financed for $72,000, will by Joseph Sehulmaii and William to the back- **' Earl Robinson will compose the score for Jack Segasture’s produc- tion of the How'ard Riebardspn- VViiUam Berney drama, “Sodom, Tennessee” ... Final statement to backers of “Arms and llie Girl’’ re- that the Theatre Guild-Aii- not involve any loss' ers, but will cost cb-producers Peter Cbokson and IMary K. Frank around $50,000 or more. Under the limited partnership agreement, as with nearly all such ventures, the money was advanced Xf^al . Washington, Nov. 28, •e. j' for the “production” of the play,; I so the deeision to abandon the Belasco theatre on La-! project during rehearsal relieves , near the White ! the investors of liability. Cooksoii; and Mrs. Frank felt that since the show appeared hopeless, they should assume the loss themselves, ■ rather than let the backers do So.' Decision to drop the Grace Klein -1 Mae Cooper farce, inw^hich Her-! The old fayette House, may be lighted once more as an entertainment centre for servicemen. Government is cur- rently working, oh the . deal with national veterans’ organizations. . During World. War II the house converted into a Stagedoor ; mione Gingold was to have starred, thony B. Farrell prodiictibn repre- sented a loss of $159,000 on a $200,000 investment ; . . And the latest accounting on .“Miss Liberty” shows a loss of $60,900 on the $200,000 venture . . . Fredric March a.nd Florence Eldridge> stars of the Lars Nordenspn production of Ar- thur Miller’s adaptation of Ibsen’s “Enemy of the People,” wiir get an increased percentage if and. when the show recoups its invest- i Ricbard Bartlett and David To- I mack will produce David Sturgis' I “Memory” at the Universal the^ I atre, Hollywood, opening Dec. 9, ; with Laurence Cregar and Helena Stevens starred. Hume Cronyn closed a deal for the Theatre Guild to take over pro- ductibn rights tb the Edmund Wil son play, “The Little Blue Lig Guild will produce it early next year, with Cronyn probably direct- ing. ■■ ■ Playwright Ricbard llarrity on . crutches with a broken ankle . . . “Joshua Beene and God,” by Hal Lewis and Clift’ord Sage, from Jewel Gibson’s novel, current at the Alley theatre, Houston, since Nov, 1. has been extended through ^ Nov. 30. Canteen operated ^ the Am“erican ; followed the run-through rehearsalv- • Scene designer Mordecai Thea^r^ Wing. sLething very , Sunday mght ‘26),. Direct^ Peter : ^Itk " similar is in the making now, al-! Godfrey had previously withdrawn ; conf^r^ bn Rockefel- , though the question of who will rand Mary Hunter was broug^^^^^^ ler^ and ^uggkheim fello^^^ sponsor the place is not settled. , at the last minute to l^ke over the ; . ^ recent meeting bf , The American Legion made the ! staging. The co-authors refused to , gi^tish Equity to make a prelimi- original request to run the theatre {make additional script changes i nary report . , . “The Gay InVftWd,” i via Maj. Gen: Harry Vaughan, 1 sought by the producers and Miss = adaptation of Moliere’s “Le Malade ; White House military aide. How-; Hunter., The production was to ; imaginaire,” co-starring A. E. ■ ever, the General Services Admin Montreal Looming as Big if veterans op- should be han- by all the na- istration feels that erate the centre it died cooperatively tional associations. Recently steps were taken to re- vive the American Theatre have been taken to Boston tompr- j Mattbews and . Elisabetb Bergner, row (Tiiurs.) for a scheduled tryout; has gotten promising reviews on its next W'eek, with the Broadway pre- Manchester tryout, prior to London tre TV, bringing a Broadway show : here aS an organization to operate /-v,..,,-.,., +/V fowrtfp Vinm-i a <!prvippm#>n’s amusement Center. or a Met Opera to the remote ham- ] a servicemen lets, Levine sees such a develop-' Thus, if the veterans fail to get meiit in five years. i together, it is likely that the Wing The manager deplores the pres-; ent financial; straits of the Met Opera. The institution. is as im- j portant as any library or museum. • *‘Whal’« wrong with this country’, i he asks. “Why doesn’t a; Ford, ; Carnegie br Rockefeller Fourida- | tion help it with a grantT Why is such a cultural institution .less; vital than foreign aid? “The Met belongs to the peo- ple;’’ says Levine. “It should be taken out bf the hands bf. its pres- ent' board of dii’ectors and given over to a public commission to ad- minister, while supported by pub- lic or . government funds.’’ i em scheduled for Dec. 21 at the Biltmore. Included in the estimated $45,000 Wing (loss on the show are the scenery, two weeks’ salary and three Weeks’ rehearsal pay for the cast, cos- tumes, props, theatre guarantee, di- will be called in to repeat its suc- cessful job of the last World War. What Is left of the Belasco is principally the walls and roof. It has been used since the last war as a warehouse for Treasury Dept, files. Several attempts were made in recent years tb revive it as a legit theatre, particularly after the ; National theatre closed its doors to / live entertainment. However, an estimated $500,000 I would have been needed to mod- ernize and reequip the house, in-^ ! eluding he?iting,.and air condition- ing. This proved a stumbling block, rector’s fee and authors’ advance, plus various incidental items. Tifty Grand’ Production Pittsburgh, Nov. 28. Unable to raise sufilcient lUOney following a series of auditions from Chicago to New York, and includ- ing Pittsburgh; Les Weinrott has dropped “Fifty Grand;” intimate musical Which was first presented at the PlUyhbuso here last sprifig. Weinrott took an optibri on the Lee Sbubert may be associated 1 in the Broadway presentation of j i Fridolin’s “The Little Rooster,” cur- : rently playing to sock business in i i Montreal, with Toronto and prob- ! ably Philadelphia engagements to : follow. I Actress Evie Hayes, . wife bf ( comedian Will Mahoney; back from ; a long stay in Australia,where she 1 played the title part in “Annie Get' Your Giin” . . Kim Hunter is set 1 for the fenime lead, opposite Claude Rains, in the Playwrights’ Co. pre.sentation of “Darkness at Noon,” Sidney Kingsley’s dramati- { zation of the Arthur Koestler novel 1 , . . Daniel Mann Will stage Steven j H. Scheuer’s production of the 1 Emery Rubio-Miriam Balf play, Language; Grosses Montreal, Nov. 28. Generar interest in live theatre sharpened considerably here in Montreal over the past year,; With grbsses on the season to date reaching a new high, Montreal’s His Majesty’s theatre, a 1,579- seater, looms as one of the better road houses on the circuit. According to: Phil Maurice, gen- eral manager of Consolidated The- atres, who handles all bookings for His Majesty’s, returns over a six week period from Oct. 2 tb Nov. 11 saw a gross of $142,100 racked up; This was done by such shows as “Brigadoon” (making its second appearance in Montreal) grossing $29,200; “Two Blind Mice,” wJth Melvyn Douglas, drawing $12,900; Oklahoma” in its third try top- ping $29,500; Borscht Capades picking up $20,000 fbr one week; the International Opera Guild do- ing $18,400, and.the Lunts getting a hefty .$32,100. “This places His Majesty’s in the Sunday Bi'eakfast,” after finishing ! fo^’^front of road shbW biz,_ says Riniibir Rfinf wifK ♦‘Rhc** Tnffnn ” I Mauricc, “particularly in view of a similar stint with “Rbse Tattoo, Cheryl Crawford's presentation of the new Tennessee Williams drama . . . Terence Rattigan, who came tb ; New Yoi’k to try to arrange produc particularly since the Government! show early this summer, promising j tions of his “Where Is Sylvia” and refused to give a firm lease. Argu- . ah Oct. 1 opening in Chicago, then i ^‘Adventure Story,” sails Dec.^ 8 on Irving Jacobs still hasn’t signed 8 composer for his prop0.sed mlisi- cal comedy, “Chautauqua,’/ for which Vincent O’Connor is vvriting , the book; However, he hopes to ; havv' the show ready fbr prbduction j ncxi spring. ment Was always made that the ; extended his deal With the authors ; property, had been purchased as the I for another couple of months in / site of a Treasury annex and that! hopes that angels would come • no one ever knew when Congress I through by that time; would vote the money to raze the , However, with phiy about half of Belasco and build the annex. Jepson on One-Nighters With Opera Song-^ 4- Helen Jepson, formerly of the fbr London. The Theatre Guild I formerly had bn optibn 6n “Adven- j ure Story,” but no one holds the { rights to “Sylvia,” which received ! gbneraliy unfavorable notices when it opened I'ecently in the West End :. . . The London editibn of “South ! Pacific,” in which' Mary Martin uce, the fact that; with the exception of two companies, the offerings were without, drawing najities. “The myth about Montre^al being primarily a French-speaking city with little or ho interest in Eng- lish offerings is exploded/by .the above figures. And With the level- ling off of the dollar, travelling companies no longer get nicked for the old 10% of preyiousryears. Miisicais are surefire with both the Fren’eh and English trade, and the needed cash oh hand, Weinrott has permitted “Fifty Grand” to re- vert back to the authors, DaVe l will repeat her original Nellie ! Grantz, Playhouse p.a. Who wrote the sketches, and Ken Welch, Car- Forbush role, will be presented by the New York prbdiicers. Richard The producer, who arrived in : MqlropoUtah Opera, is presenting [ the mu.sie and lyrics. They had Me York last week, havS paid back- 1 “Opera Night”—narratioELand aria j done eonsiderable rewriting since ers • nbthcr lOCc’ on,“Clutterbuck,’’ ; excerpts—^in colleges and on other , the original Playhouse tryout, but Bonn W. Levy comedy,, which he > one-night dates. She recently gave I have no furtheh plans at the mo- ment for the show. negie Tech drama student who did ! Rbdgers & Oscar Hanimefstein, 2d, m association with Leland Hay- ward and Joshua Logan. It will open at the Drury Lane next fall The Shuberts will probably pre pi t'" ’ nl ed brt Broadway last season, Thnl brings the total return to $30,000 thus far on the $50,000 jinvesiment. The latest income Was from the stock rights. Jacobs will return to Denver next week to remain tiirough the holidays, but will come- back to New York early in January for «n indefinite stay. it at the U. of NebrasTca and, last week, at Malcolm Atterbury’s Playhouse In Albany. “Thais” “Faust’' and “Manon” are the Operas covered by Miss Jepson, Who carries her own costumes. Stevenson Barrett is her accom- panist. Mis.s Jepson also teaches opera and singing in Clo.stor, N. J. Weinrott had already lined up a production staff, Including sev- eral people who were involved in the Playhouse version. sent the Joseph Fields-Irving El- man dramatization of Robert Tai- lant's “Mrs. Gandy and Saturday Night,” which Jack Haley formerly held under option. Gordon Seaman, WOKO musical director and previously organist- Allan Davis, director of the Old ; pianist with CBS in Ne\v York, Vic Co. of Bristol, England, will i Wrll direct the chorus and brche.s- leave Dallas, this week, following a-tra for the production, “Of Thee month’s stay at Theatre ’50. il Sing,” at Malcolm Atterbury’s a re sure of a big gross Civil War Drama Set For Williams College Preerti Williamstowh, Mass., Nov. 28. “Shadovy of a Star,” a new drama by Nicholas Biel, will be the .second production of the 1950-51 season at the Adams Memorial Theatre of Williams College, Dec. 14-tG; Biel, who does most of his writing On a farm in Norwich, Vt., has set the drama in a small upr state New York community during the hectic years immediately pt’C” ceding the Civil War.